The Birth
by LoveOfLemonDrops
Summary: What if Tom Riddle had never been born? What if such a world existed? And what if Harry Potter could live in it and feel, for the first time in his life, what having a family really means?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: What if Tom Riddle had never been born? What if such a world existed? And what if Harry could go to that World and feel what it would be like to have a family?**

* * *

Harry awoke with a start.

A second ago, he'd been sleeping soundly. Then he'd felt a soft kiss on his forehead.

Harry rubbed his eyes quickly, trying to see. The room was unusually bright. Someone was opening the blinds, letting the sunshine flow in. Harry started for the second time in less than a minute. A woman with long red hair was moving around the room- the room! It was big, much bigger than it was before… It also looked different. Harry groped around for his glasses and put them on hastily. He blinked rapidly, his eyes adjusting to the light.

The room wasn't anything like Harry's room at the Dursley's. It had much more things in it, for a start. The walls weren't white, but blue. There was a big window, a desk, and even a corner which held a broom, a bookshelf full of what seemed like quiddich books, and a box not unlike the one in Hogwarts which held the bludgers, the quaffle and the snitch. The walls were covered in posters of different quiddich teams, some of which Harry recognized.

'Harry, get up already, it's past eleven.'

Harry looked away from the walls, suddenly remembering the woman. He looked at her and felt as if all the blood had drained from his face. Someone was holding his heart in a tight grip; it had stopped beating for a moment. In front of him was standing a woman almost identical to the one he'd seen so often in pictures the album Hagrid had given him held. She had startling green eyes and long, red hair. She was an older version of Lily Potter.

Lily was now stacking shirts inside Harry's closet. She hadn't notice the way her eldest son was looking at her. She was humming a soft tune to herself. Closing the closet door, she turned to him once more, not really looking at his face.

'Harry, I said get up. You'll be late.'

And with that, she swept out of the room as if nothing had happened. As if it wasn't the first time Harry had heard his mother, her real voice, not her shrieks and pleads to Voldemort in her final moments, apart from that one time in the pensieve. As if it wasn't the first time he could remember ever being in the same room with her.

_Surely I'm dreaming, _thought Harry, feeling dazed and disoriented. He pinched himself, hard. It hurt.

Harry got up slowly, his legs shaking. He rubbed his eyes once more. A second later, he heard footsteps, and looked to the door. For the second time that day, his heart skipped a bit. A man nearly identical to his father had just walked by, looking distracted.

Harry jumped up, suddenly remembering the events of last night very clearly.

* * *

_Harry was on his way to McGonagall's office. He'd just returned from another long search for Hufflepuff's Cup. It had proved to be another fruitless search. Hermione had been wrong in thinking visiting the orphanage would perhaps give them some ideas. She had been wrong. They couldn't find the woman Harry had seen Dumbledore speaking with in the pensieve last year. She was dead by now, of course. No one else seemed to know or remember much about Tom Riddle. The file containing information about the young Riddle's stay at the orphanage had been missing for over 40 years. Feeling quite defeated, Harry, Ron and Hermione had returned to Hogwarts, for now. Harry wanted to try to talk with Dumbledore's portrait. He didn't know how much information Dumbledore's imprint would know or remember, but it was worth a shot. Harry wished wistfully that he could have a moment of piece. He was feeling tired and overwhelmed. He found himself wishing, for the tenth time this year that Voldemort had never been born. _

_Harry was now walking by the Room of Requirement. Suddenly, a door appeared. Feeling curious, he turned the handle and stepped into a small room._

_There was nothing special about the way the room looked. It was completely empty, except for a golden star that was hovering in the middle of the room.. Harry tried to remember what he'd been wishing as he was walking by the room. He remembered abruptly. He was wishing that Voldemort had never existed._

_Harry looked at the hovering gold star with interest. What was the star for? If he were to touch it, would something happen? Would it, perhaps, bring him back in time, to prevent Merope from feeding Tom Riddle that love potion?_

_Harry looked around, searching for a clue. Nothing else appeared._

_Feeling desperate and reckless, Harry reached forwards. He took a deep break, and enclosed his hand around the star. A second later, all was dark._

* * *

Harry jumped as if beaten by a snake. What was this place? Why was he sleeping in a bed in a room he didn't recognize? Why was his mom in here a minute ago, talking to him as if she were used to doing so on a daily basis? Why had his dad just walked by what was apparently Harry's room without even looking shocked at being in the same house as the son he hadn't held since he was a baby?

Harry shuddered. What was going on?

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	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

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Harry was still sitting on his bed, his mind reeling, twenty minutes later, when his father walked casually into the room. Harry looked up, his face white, his expression shocked.

James did not seem to notice. He seemed very frantic. He walked straight towards Harry's desk, arms outstretched.

"Harry, I can't remember where I put the tickets, help me find them!" he moaned.

When Harry did not respond, James looked over at him. It took him a moment to realize his son was not acting normally, looking at James as if he were a ghost.

"Harry, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Did Lily do something to my face while I was sleeping?" asked James, confused, groping at his nose.

Harry still did not respond. He was beginning to comprehend the meaning of all of this. Perhaps, he thought, perhaps this was the result of his wishing for Voldemort to be gone as he was walking by the Room of Requirement; it had produced a star which had transported him to a world in which Voldemort did not exist. A world in which- Harry gulped- his parents were alive and well. Harry reached a hand to his forehead and felt it. It felt smooth. There was no scar.

Confused and dazed, Harry looked up at his father, who by now was looking quite concerned at Harry's lack of responsiveness. Should he act as if everything was normal? Should he just go along with it, until he could think clearly about the situation? Or should he tell his dad the truth about what had happened? Harry tried to open his mouth, only his muscles didn't seem to be functioning properly.

"Right, Harry, I'll go fetch your mother. You stay here and… and… just stay here Harry."

With that, James hurried out of the room. Harry breathed again. It was difficult to think at all while the man that Harry had craved to have in his life for so long was standing there, looking quite healthy and very much alive.

Harry made up his mind about something. A minute later, his mother was walking into the room, followed closely by James, who was talking vividly.

"I'm telling you, something's not right, I think Sirius must've jinxed him, maybe confunded him, can't remember the counter-curse…"

At the mention of his godfather, Harry's spirits rose. Sirius was alive as well, by the sound of it!

Suddenly feeling quite brave and whole, Harry got up, his legs no longer shaking.

"It's okay, er- mum… I mean- mum. Yeah, er- mum. Er- I haven't been confunded…" finished Harry lamely.

Lily stopped in her tracks and looked at her son suspiciously. She pulled her wand out of her robes and pointed it at him. "Finite Incantatem!" she cried, before Harry had time to register what she was doing.

"There," she said, looking satisfied. James, however, was looking quite perplexed. "It's finite incantatem? I thought it was something else…" he trailed off, scratching his head. Suddenly, he jumped, as if remembering something, and hurried towards Harry's desk once more.

"Harry, help me out here, will you, we're really running late. If it were just Sirius we were meeting, I wouldn't be in a rush, but you know how Candice gets. And besides, wouldn't wanna miss the beginning of the match," he said.

Harry rushed over to his dad, his heart rate unnaturally fast. From what he'd gathered, he was going to a match- probably a quiddich match- with his father, and they were going to meet Sirius, and some Candice…

"What are you looking here for? Wouldn't they be in your room?" asked Harry.

"No, no, I've already checked… I remember putting them on the corner of your desks a couple of weeks ago," said James.

They looked and looked, removing piles and piles of paper from Harry's desk. Harry noticed there was homework there, among many other things, including letters. Making sure his father wasn't looking, Harry took a random letter out from its envelope and read it.

'_Dear Harry,_

_I got Ron's letter. I can't make it to the match because my parents and I are going to Australia. I've always wanted to go there, after everything Professor Binn's said about its rich magical history. I can't wait to visit all the different places!_

_Have you started that essay on human transfiguration? Ron hasn't. I told him I won't help him this time, and the same goes for you, Harry! You'd better start working before the end of the summer, or McGonagall will regret allowing you two into her N.E.W.T. class!_

_Have fun at the match, Harry! Tell Ron to behave! I should be back in two weeks._

_Love,_

_Hermione.'_

Harry stuffed the letter back into the envelope, grinning. By the looks of it, Hermione and Ron were his best friends in this world as well.

"HA! Found them!" James whooped. He was holding 3 tickets in his hand.

"Is mum coming, too?" asked Harry, excited at the prospect of spending time with both his parents.

"'Course not, Harry," said James, looking perplexed. "Mark is. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" said Harry, trying not to look curious at the mention of Mark. Who was this Mark?

"Alright then, let's go have breakfast and then we'll apparate", said James.

Harry followed his father out of room. They found themselves in a corridor. As they walked towards the other end of it, they passed by an open door. Harry took a peek inside- it seemed to be his parents' bedroom. They passed by a closed door and a bathroom. At the end of the corridor there were stairs leading downstairs as well as upstairs. Harry followed his father downstairs, resisting the urge to explore the house. He realized with a jolt that this must be Godric's Hollow. There was a nice and cozy looking living room. The windows were wide open, allowing the soft summer breeze in. Harry entered the kitchen with his father and saw, with another jolt, his mother sitting at the breakfast table, eating scrambled eggs and chatting with a boy who looked to be about 7 years old. Harry scanned his face and felt shock and disbelief sweep over him for the third time that day. The boy had red, untidy hair. He wasn't wearing glasses over his hazel eyes, but his resemblance to James- and Harry- was uncanny. _I have a brother_, thought Harry.

"Well, look who's finally decided to show up. Eggs?" asked Lily, handing him a plate and pointing at the chair next to her.

Harry smiled weakly and sat down next to her. She put her arm around him and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. Harry closed his eyes briefly, marveling at the warm feeling in his stomach. He opened them to find his brother looking at him in disgust.

"Dunno why you let her do that, destroys my appetite…" he was saying, though Harry wasn't really listening. He'd never really paused to wonder if, had they not died, his parents would've had more children. Now he _did _think about it, it made sense for them to have had another child.

"What's your name?" he blurted out inquiringly, before he could stop himself.

James and Lily, who were bantering playfully, stopped and looked at Harry. The young boy stopped mid-bite.

The awkward moment was broken almost immediately by the sudden arrival of a girl into the kitchen. She was still in her pajamas. Her hair was red. Harry took in the appearance of a miniature Lily with shock. The only distinguishable difference was her eyes: they were Petunia's. Harry thought wryly that all previous hopes he might've had about Petunia not really being his aunt were now extinguished. She looked to be in her early teens._ I have a sister, _thought Harry. He was going to pass out… his parents were alive, so was Sirius, _and_ he had a sister and a brother? This was too perfect.

"Morning," said the girl, sitting down next to Harry's little brother. She ruffled his hair and he made an annoyed face.

"Erin, don't do that!" he exclaimed, smoothing back his hair.

_Erin,_ Harry memorized. His sister's name was Erin. Now if only she'd say his brother's name…

"Pass the salt, Mark," said Erin a second later. Harry grinned.

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	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

* * *

All through breakfast Harry did not speak, rather enjoying just looking at his family. His parents were teasing each other. Lily was just saying something about James' hair when he seized her and planted a long kiss on her mouth. Blushing, Harry hastily looked to his brother and sister instead. Mark was making a mess of the leftovers in his plate, while Erin looked tired and grumpy. Her mouth was moving and she looked at Harry as she spoke, but he wasn't registering a word of what she was saying.

"Harry, were you even listening to a word I just said?" she snapped. Harry felt a strong surge of affection for her and was irresistibly reminded of the tone Ginny often took when talking to Ron. Ginny… what was she doing right now? Was she worried about Harry? Surely Ron and Hermione would've noticed his absence by now? And what about the Harry that Harry was now replacing?

Harry suddenly realized that he couldn't go on like this, pretending to go along with this lifestyle.

But one day won't hurt… thought Harry, thinking of Sirius. He just wanted to see his godfather before thinking about returning to his world.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Harry, Mark and James were fully dressed and ready to leave. 

Erin had retreated to the attic, where her room was, apparently.

"Right," said Lily, hurrying over to them, holding a plastic bag, "James, here are the sandwiches, make sure you remember to _eat_ if the match goes on for too long- Harry, watch over Mark- Mark, hold Harry's hand while you wait in line to get into the stadium, I don't want you getting lost like last time."

She kissed the little boy, hugged Harry and rushed away again, giving James a mischievous glance, but he grabbed her and planted another kiss on her mouth. Mark made a sound of disgust and covered his eyes and Harry laughed. A minute later, Lily had pushed them all outside and shut the door.

James lifted Mark onto his shoulders and they started walking. Jogging to keep up with his dad's long and fast strides, Harry asked him "Where are we going?"

"To the park, Kirk said he'd planted an empty box of candies in the bushes as the portkey."

While they walked, Harry made sure to stay a step behind so that he could look at his father. He looked much more mature than the boy Harry had seen in Snape's pensieve. He wasn't wrinkled just yet, and his hair was as black as it had always been. Harry looked at Mark wistfully and wondered if, when he was small, his father carried him like that, too.

They came to a sudden stop and Harry looked around him. They seemed to be in what looked like a muggle park. A few people were playing with their dogs, while others sat on benches while reading the newspaper. They were standing next to one of these people and Harry noted with surprise that the picture on the front page was moving.

"Hello, Audrey. Anything interesting?" asked James, gesturing to the paper.

"Hey there, James. Not a damn thing." She answered, flipping a page without even looking up.

James winked at Harry and pulled him by the shoulder towards the bushes behind the bench. He put Mark down, much to the young boy's chagrin, and started probing the shrubs. Harry stuck his hands in too and felt around for a box.

"Found it!" he exclaimed a few moments later.

"Good," said James, taking the box from Harry. "Now- he looked at his watch- we have a six minutes before it activates." He looked around and muttered "I'm surprised at Candice, thought she and Sirius would be here before us."

No sooner had he said this than a woman seemed to be jogging towards them. She was closely followed by a dark haired man. Harry's heart dropped to his knees. It was Sirius.

The woman reached them, gasping and panting, trying to catch her breath. Sirius was there a few seconds later, trying not to look as if the run had affected him, though he was quite red in the face. He did not seem to notice that Harry had swayed dangerously at the sight of him.

"Sorry… James…" panted the woman, still trying to catch her breath. "I… went… out… for an hour… to… buy… food… and I… told Sirius… to be ready… when I get back… Only… he was still… sleeping… when I got back," she finished, glaring at Sirius.

"Well, mate, you're not the only one who slept in this morning, I thought Harry was going to make us miss the match- you should've seen him, I thought you'd confunded him…" James trailed off, suddenly noticing the change of atmosphere. His eldest son looked as if he was fighting to stay on his feet. He was as pale as ghost and had the same expression on his face as the one he was wearing in the morning while looking at James.

"All right there, Harry?" asked Sirius, a crease forming between his eyebrows. He put his hand on Harry's shoulder and looked to James. "Prongs, what have you been feeding my grandson? Were you cooking this morning?"

Harry suddenly looked slightly insane. His eyes were considerably red. He swallowed several times. Then, very suddenly, he seemed to fall into his godfather. His head crushing onto Sirius' chest, he hugged him as if his life depended on it. Sirius, exchanging a shocked and worried look with James, wrapped his arms around Harry. A few seconds later, Harry's legs seemed to give out on him and he slumped to the ground. Sirius grabbed him before his head hit the earth.

"Right," said James, pushing the portkey back to its place in the bushes. "We're going back to Godric's Hollow. Something's wrong with Harry.

* * *

"Enervate." 

Harry eyes fluttered open slowly. There were a couple of faces peering down at him worriedly. His mother's and father's faces were mere inches away from his, their eyes wide open and worried. Sirius had soon pushed his face in between theirs and was peering in much the same way at Harry.

"Harry, my sweetheart, darling, are you alright?" asked Lily.

Harry nodded feebly. He tried getting to his feet. He hadn't felt this weak in a long time. The shock of seeing Sirius looking so NORMAL was too much for Harry. His godfather's face looked full and happy. His hair was short and clean. He wasn't terribly skinny. And his eyes… there was no trace of madness or sadness in them. Harry had felt then more fully than ever before the shock of losing Sirius sweep over him. Never in his world would he ever be able to look at his godfather, to speak to him, to ask him for advice… Seeing him there had made Harry feel the ache in his chest more painfully than ever as he realized that that hole could never be filled by anyone, for all the parent figures in his life were dead. Harry's eyes burned again at these thoughts and he fought to keep the tears at bay.

Lily seemed to have noticed this, for she leaned in toward her husband and whispered something in his ear. He whispered something back, but she glared at him and he took his best friend by the elbow and left Harry's bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Lily pushed Harry aside gently and lied down next to him. She put her hand around his shoulder and whispered. "What is it, Harry? You know you can tell me anything. Has something happened yesterday between you and Ginny when you were over at the Burrow?"

Harry blinked and he asked hoarsely "Ginny?" Were he and Ginny together in this world? Well, it made sense, thought Harry. There was no reason for them to be apart if Voldemort wasn't around. Harry's ache seemed to intensify tenfold at the thought of Ginny. He missed her. They hadn't spoken since Bill and Fleur's marriage. Harry had told her he'd rather they didn't speak; it was too hard.

"Harry, what is it?" his mother prodded.

It was pure agony, lying there, next to his mother, as she held him. Harry then fully understood the meaning of what she'd sacrificed for him. He'd never really questioned the fact his mother had given up her life for him. It seemed natural for any loving mother to do so. But now he was witnessing the life she could've had. But she had consciously put herself between Harry and Voldemort and had begged to be killed instead. Even when she'd thought Harry stood no chance, and that she could keep on living, she chose to die, rather than go on without him. It was in that moment that Harry fully comprehended just how strong his mother's love for him was, and he turned the necessary inch, enclosed his arms around his mother, and buried his face in her shoulder, resisting the urge to howl with pain. It was so unfair that he could never have this comfort. Ron did not know how lucky he was, to have a mother such as Molly. None of the Weasleys knew… He thought he ought to tell them to appreciate their mother more when he got back…

He did not know for how long they lay there, his mother stroking his hair and kissing the top of his head lovingly. "There, there… it's alright, Harry. Whatever it his that happened between you and Ginny couldn't have been that serious. I remember when I was your age; every fight seemed like the end of the world. If someone were to tell me back then that James would be the father of my children, I would've jinxed them," she murmured, shaking her head. Harry gave a shaky laugh, remembering his parents in Snape's pensieve.

"Mum, there's something I need to tell you."

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Oooo, what'll happen next? Review to find out! Bwahahahaha :P Well, you'll find out anyway, eventually... When I get to write the next chapter... I need some inspirition... :D 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 3_**

* * *

"Mum, I need to tell you something."

Lily looked at Harry incredulously. She'd thought he wasn't going to tell him what the matter was. He wasn't acting like himself, letting her hold him and hugging her like that. He was usually too busy trying to be 'cool' to let her mother him.

"I… I'm not who you think I am."

"What do you mean?" asked Lily, perplexed.

"I'm not your son."

_What in the world... _"Harry, I don't understand what you're saying. Of course you're my son!" Lily exclaimed.

"No… I'm…" Harry seemed at a loss for words. Lily looked at him expectantly. He took a deep breath.

"I think I… You see, I was walking by the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts – "

"The Room of _What _in Hogwarts?" interrupted Lily.

"Er- you see, I'm… I… Do you remember sixth year History of Magic?" asked Harry. When his mother shook her head slowly, he kept going. "Well, you see, I wasn't in that class, but Hermione was and she… well, she told me about Alternate Universes once, when we were discussing Voldemort… You see, she thought we could try to communicate with people from another reality, where Dumbledore was still alive, to ask him about the horcruxes, because we didn't get to before he…" Harry trailed off.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't understand a single word of what you just said. What do you mean, Dumbledore was still alive!"

Harry took a deep breath. "I think I might've come here from an alternate universe."

* * *

Three hours, three butterbeers and many hugs later, Lily had come to understand that Harry was not, in fact, her Harry. He was an orphan. Lily shuddered at the thought. She hadn't completely understood everything about that Voldemort. When Harry had first started talking, she'd felt sure Sirius had done more than just confund him, but after trying every possible spell on her son, and trying revealing charms and even checking for the effects of polyjuice potion, Lily had come to the realization that the frightened boy wasn't affected by any trace of a spell. She'd listened to him saying something about her and James being killed on Halloween night, refused to believe it, and in the end had resorted to trying to find a bottle a veritaserum in one of the kitchen cabinets, ignoring everyone's questions about what was wrong with Harry, and snapping at them to let her deal with him. She found a bottle, threatened to hex Sirius and James if they went upstairs, rushed to the bedroom, and showed it to Harry, threatening to make him drink it if he didn't stop this mad talk right this moment. Only he hadn't reacted as she'd expected him to. He stood up defiantly and told her he knew he sounded crazy, and that he'd drink it, if that's what it took to make her believe him. Lily yelled at him that he wasn't being funny, and in her frenzy, she flung the bottle at him. He caught it with ease, looked at her determinately for a split second and took a gulp.

"Harry, no!" she gasped, terrified, rushing to stop him. But it was too late. Harry's eyes glazed over.

"Why'd you do that?" she shrieked at him. He answered her in a robotic tone. "To make you understand the truth."

"What truth?" she'd practically screamed.

"The truth that I'm not your son," he answered, making her gasp and clutch at her heart.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"I'm Harry James Potter. I come from an alternate world. A world where there is a dark war going on."

"An alternate world?" Lily chocked out.

"Yes."

* * *

Lily's legs were quivering as she headed towards the kitchen, where her husband, Sirius and Mark seemed to be listening to the quiddich game on the wireless. She took a moment to observe them before entering the room. James and Sirius, she noticed, were only pretending, for Mark's sake, to be interested in the match. They kept on exchanging worried glances over the young boy's head and checking the time. Lily coughed to make her presence known. James got up instantly.

"Lily, what is it, did you find out what's bothering him?" he asked.

Lily resisted the urge to laugh bitterly. _What's bothering him? _It seemed like such a mundane question after all she'd heard Harry tell her about his miserable life in the other world. She hadn't understood most of it; she _couldn't_ comprehend it, really. The enormousness of it all… Lord Voldemort, Sirius, Peter… _Dumbledore…_Lily shuddered at the thought. Coming out of her reverie, she noticed James and Sirius were looking at her inquiringly, waiting for an answer. She sighed.

"Mark, go up to your room, please, you can listen to the match from there."

Mark opened his mouth to argue, but sensing the seriousness of the situation, he obeyed grumpily.

"What is it?" asked Sirius as soon as Mark was out of earshot.

"I suggest you both sit down. This is going to take a while," said Lily, looking at them both very seriously, her green eyes wide open.

* * *

James lay in bed next to his wife. She was sleeping deeply. The events of the day had taken their toll on her. He, on the other hand, still felt too dazed to fall asleep. After much swearing, screaming and disbelieving gasping, Lily had managed to convince James and Sirius of Harry's story by telling them he was under the effects of Veritaserum. She'd seemed quite ashamed to reveal that bit of information. She hadn't meant for him to drink it at all, by the sound of it. James wanted to go up and question his son himself, but Lily had forbidden him to do so, telling him Harry had fallen asleep in her arms as soon as the effects of the veritaserum had lifted.

Where was their Harry? If what Lily was saying was right, he would be in the other Harry's world right now, where he would be in grave danger, what with this Voldemort person wreaking havoc and being after his skin. James planned to go to Dumbledore about this first thing tomorrow morning.

James twisted and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. He shuddered at the thought of what Harry had had to go through. Living with the Dursleys… And there was Sirius. Lily was barely whispering when she'd told them of Sirius dying in front of Harry. At this, Sirius had gripped the table so hard his knuckles had turned a disturbing shade of purple. And Peter… Peter was the saddest story of all. It was a good thing he was already dead in this world… James could not believe he'd shed so many tears over his friend when he'd died of a rare wizarding illness five years ago. Apparently, Peter had sold him and Lily out to Voldemort. He'd been the cause of their death, and of Sirius' imprisonment in Azkaban. And as if all of this weren't enough, Lily had said something about Harry having to be the one to finish off this Voldemort, being the 'Chosen One' or something… And to top it off, Dumbledore was _dead_.

James had never heard of a more horrible life than the one this Harry had had to lead. The things he'd had to endure… it was no wonder he'd gone pale like that, seeing his godfather.

Making up his mind about something, James got up and headed towards his son's room. Alternate World or not, the eldest boy in Godric's Hollow was technically his son.

* * *

Harry felt the hairs at the back of his neck rise. Someone was watching him. He opened his eyes abruptly and heard a sharp intake of breath. Before his eyes had time to adjust to the darkness, without even thinking, Harry reached under his pillow to grab his wand. Only it wasn't there.

"Harry?"

Harry started at the recognizable yet so unfamiliar voice, and suddenly the events of the past day came back to him. He'd told his mom… He could remember, through the haze the veritaserum had created over his mind, the way his mother had looked when he'd told her about his life and about how he'd gotten there. At first, she seemed disbelieving, but the more he told her, the more compassionate she became. When he'd told her about Sirius, she'd even shed a few tears and hugged him tightly, telling him everything would be alright.

Suddenly, Harry's thoughts were interrupted as he was blinded by a dazzling light.

"Ouch- gerroff me," he muttered, shielding his eyes with his arms.

"Sorry," whispered James, whispering "Nox."

They sat there in awkward silence for a couple of minutes. James looked away uncomfortably as Harry examined his face.

"People have always told me I look just like you," said Harry suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Well- er… they were quite right. You were the only Potter lucky enough to inherit my good looks, I'm afraid. Though Mark did get his fair share of my good looks, if you look past the awful red hair and lack of glasses," said James jokingly. Harry gave a shaky laugh.

"I've never had a brother or a sister before," said Harry conversationally.

"Yeah, I was an only child myself, so I'm afraid I can't give you any tips. My only valuable piece of advice: don't pick on Erin. She's got quite a temper on her, that one. Gets it from her mother," said James, a reminiscent look on his face.

"Yeah, I know, I saw this memory in Sn- well, in someone's pensieve once. You were dangling Snape upside down and mum showed up and started yelling at you," said Harry, laughing

"Aaah, I remember that day. I was quite a jerk back then, wasn't I?" said James, smiling.

"Yeah, I thought so at first, but now I suppose he deserved it," said Harry, a sudden murderous gleam in his eye. James started. Then he remembered what Lily had told him last night: Snape had killed Dumbledore. He still couldn't believe it. Alright, the boy had always seemed to have an interest for the Dark Arts, and he was a greasy git – but James had never thought of him as a murderer before.

Another long silence stretched between them, as James thought of Snape. Harry simply looked at his father, enjoying looking at him and feeling very much like a son for the first time in his life. It was a strange feeling. It definitely wasn't a _bad_ feeling, thought Harry. He could get used to it. Harry shook his head quickly. He couldn't let himself think like this – he had to be realistic. The other Harry was probably frightened out of his wits in the other world. He had to start thinking about going back, now he'd gotten his wish of seeing Sirius.

"Harry- er- it's not that I mind having you here, I really don't, in fact, I wish you could stay along with Harry- that is, our son Harry- not that I'm saying you aren't our son, mind you – "

"I know what you mean. Dumbledore isn't even there to protect him. I think we'd better go to Hogwarts tomorrow. I can't stay here," said Harry, thought James couldn't help but hear the pain in his voice.

"I really wish you could stay, Harry. I don't feel right, sending my son back to a world where he's in danger," whispered James, looking into Harry's eyes.

"But I'm not your _real_ son," blurted Harry.

"Yes, you are. Just like the man who died protecting your mother and you when you were one was me," said James fiercely. "Listen, I don't get this whole alternate universe situation, but I do get this – you are as much my son as our Harry is."

Harry's eyes stung and he hastily looked at his toes, pretending to find them interesting. But James didn't seem to be embarrassed to show his emotions at all. He grabbed Harry by the shoulders and looked into his eyes with the intensity of a thousand moons.

"Merlin, I don't know why you've head to endure so much in your life Harry, but know this – we've had the fortune to lead a war-free life for the past couple of decades, and thanks to you, I know your children will be able to say the same. I don't think I would've even been able to last this long if I were in your shoes. I'm very proud of you."

Harry screwed up his face. _He wouldn't cry in front of his father_. But before he could master his emotions, James swept Harry into a bone crashing hug, and Harry lost it.

* * *

Please review! I'm trying not to make it too cheesy or out of caracter, but I just love emotional Harry/James-Sirius-Lily moments. I'm an overemotional person.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

* * *

Erin woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she got up immediately, as usual. She looked to her clock and cursed. It was early, too early.

Erin walked downstairs. As she got to the hallway on the second floor, something made her stop in her tracks. She could hear anxious whispers coming from her parents' room. She tiptoed towards it and peeked in through the barely open door. Her father was pacing around in front of the bed, where her mum was sitting, holding her head in her hands.

"We can't send him back there Lily, it's mad! There's got to be another way we can get Harry back without having to send this Harry into the hands of a murderous villain in that other world! They're both our sons! What if we could get Harry back here and keep this Harry here, too? Anything's possible, right? We're _wizards, _we can do magic, for Merlin's sake! It's got to be possible!"

Lily shook her head and lifted her head. "James, you know we can't do that. The whole prospect of alternate realities is that there can't be two of the same person in the same world. That's why when Harry got here our Harry was transported over there."

James swore.

Erin frowned. What in the name of god were they talking about? They mentioned Harry's name more times than was necessary in each sentence. None of what they said had made any sense to her. _Our_ Harry? _This_ Harry? They were almost talking as if there were _two_ Harry's!

Erin tiptoed away from the door and headed towards Harry's room. She was surprised to find the door wide open. Her brother was sitting on his bed, hugging his knees to his stomach. He was looking at something. Erin squinted. It was a photo album.

"What are you doing?" she asked her brother suspiciously. Harry jumped.

"Er– I was just – you know…" he gestured helplessly.

"Right… Harry, I just overheard mum and dad talking, they're being awfully strange! They were talking about you…" she trailed off, her eyes narrowing in thought.

Harry looked uncomfortable. He avoided her eyes and went back to looking at the album.

"What's going on Harry, I'm not stupid, you know. I noticed you were acting strangely yesterday at breakfast. And now you're looking through photo albums, for crying out loud!" exclaimed Erin, grabbing her brother's hand and pushing herself onto the bed next to him.

"Nothing's going on… I'm just not feeling very well, that's all!" he said defensively. He didn't think his parents would want his siblings to know about all this. And personally, he didn't want them to know. He was quite sure Mark would be too young to understand anyway.

"Not feeling well? Well, that's not what it sounded like when mum and dad were talking about you earlier! They were saying our Harry this, this Harry that…"

But before Harry could come up with an answer, Lily and James came into the room. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Erin there and exchanged looks. James shrugged. Lily nodded, took a deep breath, and told Erin to remain seated.

"Why?" asked Erin, perplexed.

"Because, this is going to take a while," answered James.

* * *

It had taken two hours, but Erin had finally come to believe what her parents- with occasional input by Harry- had been trying to tell her. Her brother Harry had switched places with a Harry from another world, who was now sitting next to her.

"So you've never met Mark or me?" she asked him, for good measure.

"No, I haven't," answered Harry.

"Well then… Er- you know my name's Erin… I'm fifteen– don't give me that look, I know I don't look it. In all fairness, you don't look seventeen either," she said, grinning.

"Well, you should see what I _really _look like. In my world, I mean. I suppose the past couple of years haven't exactly helped… I guess I must look pretty worn out over there, huh?" he mused, a faraway look in his eye.

"I'll bet you do… can't imagine a man as evil as Voldemort existing… Are you sure he tried to kill you when you were just _one_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah… you should see his supporters too… some of them are as bad as him. He's got this one Fenrir Greyback follower. He's a werewolf. He goes after children on the full moon- on purpose, too!" Erin gasped. Harry suddenly remembered something. "Hey –is Lupin a werewolf here, too?"

"Remus? Yeah, he's a werewolf alright. Why'd you ask?"

"Just curious," shrugged Harry. "Fenrir Greyback's the one who bit him, you know? He told me on Christmas. And at the end of the year, when Dumbledore– when he– you know… Anyway, Greyback was there, and he bit Ron's brother, Bill. And it wasn't even the full moon!"

Erin gasped once more. She gave Harry a compassionate look.

"I can't believe you don't even have mum and dad over there… and Sirius…" she shuddered at the thought. She loved her godfather dearly.

"So," said Harry conversationally. "In this world, how am I? As a brother, I mean." He thought of Ron and Ginny. "Am I overprotective?" he asked jokingly.

Erin laughed. "Yeah, you are! I went out with someone for the first time last year, and you nearly killed him when you found out! You started accusing him– something about a love potion…The row we had…I think we didn't speak to each other for about a month after that," she said.

"Seriously?" asked Harry, thinking that if he had a sister in his world, he would surely appreciate her too much to ignore her for so long. But then he remembered how back in fourth year he'd had that row with Ron, whom he considered more of a brother than a friend, and smiled knowingly.

* * *

By the time Harry and his sister got downstairs, Lily and James had already taken out half of the books from the library. The entire kitchen floor was covered with discarded books. James was mumbling while leafing through a big old book. Lily was frowning and reading out loud a section from another book. Erin coughed. They both looked up.

"What are you guys up to?" she asked.

"If you must know, we're checking to see what really happens when two people are transferred through magical layers leading to alternate worlds. But I don't understand a word of this anyway, I think we'd do better to go to Dumbledore as soon as possible," said James.

Lily shut the book she was holding, looking frustrated. "You're right, James, let's just write Dumbledore. I don't even think he's in Hogwarts right now, he said something about a vacation on the beach at the end of term," she said. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned to Harry. "By the way, Harry, you probably don't know this – I'm the new Charms teacher at Hogwarts. I just started two years ago, when Flitwick retired. Do you have Flitwick in your world?"

"Yeah, I do! Wow – you're a teacher at Hogwarts? So you teach me and Erin?" asked Harry, looking delighted and curious. "What do you do, dad?"

"I'm chaser for Chudley's Cannons, of course! The best one of them, too!" he said, looking proud.

Harry looked even happier than before at this piece of information. "Wow, wait till I tell Ron what you guys would be doing in my world if you weren't – you know…" he finished awkwardly. His parents looked depressed for a second but returned to their normal selves a moment later.

"So, Harry, how are you at quiddich? Our Harry's seeker and captain of the quiddich team at Hogwarts. Never lost a game!" said James proudly.

"I'm seeker and captain too, but I did lose a game once." James tried not to look surprised. Harry seemed to notice this, for he hurriedly added "But it wasn't really my fault, you see, it was the year Sirius escaped from Azkaban and they set up Dementors around the school- they showed up at the game." Lily and James looked frightened and repulsed by this piece of information. "Dementors at Hogwarts…" muttered Lily, shaking her head.

"I still can't believe people thought Sirius sold us out to Voldemort," said James.

"Yes, well, let's not dawdle. Harry, will you help me write the letter to Dumbledore? I'm sure Peter will manage to get it to him quite soon, he's really fast," said Lily.

"Peter?" asked Harry, looking doubtful. He'd been quite satisfied to hear that the Peter in this world had died of a wizarding illness five years ago.

"Yes, that's our owl's name," said Lily, looking at him apologetically.

"We should change his name," said James, looking a bit murderous. "Knowing what he would've done if there was a dark lord in our world… are you quite sure Peter did all of that?" James asked Harry for the tenth time since he'd heard the story. Harry nodded regretfully.

"Alright, alright James, there's no time to waste, who knows what our Harry's up to in that other world." She looked at Harry remorsefully. "We don't want to send you back, but at least you can handle yourself over there on your own, and you know what's going on. Our Harry's too mischievous for his own good, who knows what he'll do."

"No, you're right," said Harry. "Let's go write that letter."

* * *

_Please review!_


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